Detroit Sports

Wednesday, June 30, 2004

Pictures

A lot of people have been searching "Pistons Championship Pictures" or something like that when they are finding my site. So I decided to put up the 3 best pictures(in my mind) from the 2004 playoffs. Here they are.

Three Straight Walk-Off Homeruns?

The Tigers won their third straight game by a walk-off homer last night when Dmitri Young hit his third homerun of year in the bottom of the 11th inning to give the Tigers the 9-7 win. This was the first time since 1998 that the Tigers have won 3 straight games on walf-off homeruns.

Munson continued his hot streak with a 3 run homer and 4 RBIs.

This win was not only the third straight walk-off homerun victory for the Tigers but it was also their 5th straight win. This is their first 5 game winning streak since 2002. With the win, the Tigers now sit just 5 games back of the division leading Twins.

Sunday, June 27, 2004

Way to go Pena!

The Tigers won their 4th straight game today against the Diamondbacks thanks to Carlos Pena's walk-off grandslam in the 9th inning with the score tied at 5-5. Rondell White also hit a 2 run homer to help the Tigers get back into the game.

The Tigers also won last night on a walk-off homer but that one was by Eric Munson. Munson's homer was the longest in Comerica Park History(457 feet).

The Tigers posted walk-off homers in consecutive games for the first time since Damion Easley and Tony Clark did it in three straight games in 1998. Pena's walk-off grand slam was Detroit's first since Lou Whitaker in 1994. (from detroittigers.com)

The Tigers are really starting to play much better. Their pitching has been a little weaker but their bats have picked it up.

The Tigers are now 35-39 on the season and are 6 games back of the division leading Twins.

Thursday, June 24, 2004

6/24 News

The Tigers signed Shortstop Carlos Guillen to a 3 year extension worth about 13 million. He is having a great season batting .322. He also has 10 homers and over 45 RBIs. Guillen would probably make the allstar game if it wasn't for Jeter,Nomar, and Tejada. This is a great signing for the Tigers. Guillen was on his last year of the contract and now he won't have a chance to test out the free agent market after this season.

With the Pistons just winning the NBA Title, I haven't even thought about the NBA Draft tonight. The Pistons lone pick is number 54. I have no clue who they are looking for but I trust Joe Dumars to make the right pick.

Tuesday, June 22, 2004

Final Championship Thoughts

It has been over a week since the Pistons won the NBA Title. The celebration,the parade,and the awards are over. The Pistons can enjoy this Title for a little longer but they soon have to look to the next season. Even though the party is over, I still want to recap the great season the Pistons had.

Before the season started, the Pistons drafted Darko Milicic. He didn't play much all season but his time will come.

The Pistons had a very good regular season. They won 54 games and they came second in their division behide the Pacers. During the trade deadline they traded some bench players and got Rasheed Wallace in return. What a trade that turned out to be.

In the first round of the playoffs the Pistons played the Bucks. They won game one but they lost game 2. They then won game 3 and 4 on the road to take the 3-1 series lead. In game 5 they closed it out at home.

In the second round of the playoffs the Pistons played the Nets. Detroit looked strong early and won game 1 and 2 at home. NJ stormed back to win game 3 and 4 at home. Game 5 was a classic even though the Pistons lost. In game 6 the Pistons came up with a must win victory on the road. They then destroyed the Nets at home in game 7 to move onto the Eastern Conference Finals.

In the Eastern Conference Finals the Pistons played the Pacers. Indiana had home-court advantage and they won game 1 thanks to Reggie Miller's 3 point shot at the end of the game. In game 2 the Pistons won thanks to an incredible game saving block by Tayshaun Prince. The Pistons won game 3 and the Pacers won game 4. Game 5 was a must win game for both teams. The Pistons won that important game 5 on the road and then they closed out the series at home in game 6.

In the NBA Finals the Pistons played and destroyed the Lakers. The Pistons won game 1,but the Lakers won game 2. After that the Pistons won 3 straight games in dominating fashion to win the NBA Championship.

What a season for the Pistons! They played their best basketball in the playoffs when it mattered the most. They showed what they were made of when their back was against the wall in game 6 of the NJ series and game 2 of the Indiana series. The Pistons were a team that could play great when they were down.

The Finals were a laugher for the Pistons. They were clearly the better team than the Lakers. Their defense won them the Title. They probably had one of the best defensive teams of all time. They were the best team in the NBA and they deserved this title so much. Not only was this a huge victory for the Pistons, but this was also a huge victory for the NBA. They proved that you could win in the NBA with team work and great defense. They didn't need a superstar to lead them to the title. This "team' showed exactly what they were, a "team".

Monday, June 21, 2004

What others are saying

Congratulations to the Detroit Pistons. It seemed that the whole country was a Pistons fan for just a little bit. Especially after game 3, where it seemed apparent to just about everyone that they were the better team and going to win the series.
Maybe some people liked them because they were the underdogs. Others liked them because they were the new face on the block. It could be their lack of a scoring superstar, that made them so intriguing. I'm sure their blue-collar team style of play won some hearts, a perfect antithesis to the Lakirs. (Oops! did I put an "I" in Lakers?) Somewhere out there, someone thinks Ben's 'fro is cooler than Jack's mummified remains. For whatever reason, people seemed to jump on the bandwagon, especially the further the series was in the Pistons' favor. Everybody loves a winner. Savor it while it lasts.

Next year, Piston fans, it won't be the same. It'll start when the Pistons play our team. You won't be the lovable underdogs, but the favorites. We won't turn a blind eye to all the physical contact that goes uncalled against our team. What was seen as confidence will now be perceived as cockiness. By the time you reach the playoffs, everyone will be aiming for you. Everyone will want to be the team to knock you off. Succeed and repeat as champions, and the intensity will grow for the next year. Fail, and you'll be written off as a one year wonder, a fluke.

Until then I'll be happy that the trophy is in your hands, and not in Hollywood. Enjoy your summer as champs. See you in preseason.

Finally, a big congratulations to the Pistons - they played excellent basketball this postseason, thanks in large part to the intelligent pickup of Rasheed Wallace. If they can keep their core players together and on the same page, they should be a force next year as well.

You know the game is out of hand when Darko gets in. Also, didn't it seem wrong to name an MVP from the Pistons? To single out one guy on a team that is pretty much based around everyone, just seemed wrong. Particularly when it was Chauncey Billups. Don't get me wrong, he played well. But personally, I probably would have picked Ben Wallace. That was a Herculian effort in Game 5 and he was strong the whole series on the boards and on D.

Darko vs. Melo debate is now officially irrelevant. Joe D saw that second overall pick for what it was â€” a free play. You know, like in football when there's a flag on the defence during a play and the quarterback throws a Hail Mary because he knows that even if it gets intercepted, they're getting 10 yards? Darko is that Hail Mary. Carmelo wasn't the final piece in Detroit's championship puzzle. Rasheed Wallace was.

Thanks to all these blogs for writing about the Pistons. I agree with most of them and their opinions. All of us NBA fans can't wait till next season after this great one.

Saturday, June 19, 2004

Will Rasheed Come Back?

Rasheed Wallace was a big reason the Pistons won the NBA Chamionship. Detroit got him during the trade deadline this past season and since getting him they have never looked better. The only problem with getting Rasheed was that this was the last year of his contract. That means that he now becomes a free agent. He probably won't leave Detroit after winning the title here, but you can never tell. He might want a much bigger salery than the Pistons would be able give him. Also he is was one of the oldest guys on the team and the Pistons have younger big men who are a better fit for the future of their team(Darko and Okur). I hope he doesn't leave Detroit after making the Pistons so much better, but if he leaves Detroit it doesn't mean the end of the world for the Pistons. He probably will come back and if he doesn't we don't need to panic. But Come On Rasheed Don't Leave Us!

Thursday, June 17, 2004

Joe Dumars and what he has done for Detroit

With the Pistons winning this NBA Title we look at how President Joe Dumars got the players the Pistons needed to win them this title. Here is a list of important moves he has made to help get them back on top.

Trading away superstar Grant Hill for then unknown Ben Wallace. What a move that turned out to be. Grant Hill has been injured for 3 straight seasons,and Ben Wallace had started in 2 allstar games and has won 2 Defensive Player of the Year Awards.

Trading Jerry Stackhouse for Rip Hamilton. That turned out to be another great deal. Stackhouse has been injured and Rip has gotten better and better since the Pistons got him.

Drafting Tayshaun Prince late in the first round of the 2002 NBA Draft. Prince has been a big playoff time performer and is also evolving into a star.

Trading for Rasheed Wallace during the trade deadline this past season. Rasheed put them over the top and without getting him, Detroit probably wouldn't have won this NBA Title.

Drafting Darko Milicic. We still don't know if this was a good decision or not but if Joe had drafted Carmello, Detroit might not have been able to pick up Rasheed Wallace during the trade deadline.

Getting Chauncey Billups. Getting Chauncey was a big risk. He had been traded a lot over his career and was never really the player people thought he could be. Now what are they saying after he has won the Finals' MVP Award.

Firing Rick C. and hiring Larry Brown. At first everyone thought that firing Rick after winning 50 games twice was dumb(including me) but Larry was the better coach for this young team. Brown proved his hiring by coaching his way to a Title.

When Joe Dumars came to Detroit it was a mess. He said that he figured it would take him 8-9 years to rebuild the Pistons. It only took him 3 1/2. This title had so much to do with Joe D. that he had almost as much to do with this title as the players themselves.

Wednesday, June 16, 2004

Awards for the Pistons

Here are my awards for the NBA Champions' Detroit Pistons in the 2004 playoffs.

3 Stars of the NBA Finals

1.Ben Wallace
Even though Billups won the Finals' MVP award, Ben had a great series. Without him the Lakers probably would have scored enough points to beat the Pistons. The biggest thing he did was prevent Shaq from getting the ball a lot and scoring easy buckets.

2.Chauncey Billups
He was the Finals' MVP and had the best offensive series for Detroit. He scored 21 points a game and averaged 5 assists a game. He outscored Gary Payton 105-21. He hit a lot of big shots and guided the Pistons' fast break very well.

3.Tayshaun Prince
He was probably the most quiet star of the Finals. Even though he was quiet, he had a great series. He shutdown Kobe Bryant this series and didn't allow him to take any easy shots. He also scored a few important buckets.

3 Stars of the Playoffs

1.Rip Hamilton
He had an incredible playoffs. He lead the team in scoring at over 20 points a game. With his scoring, he also grabbed some rebounds and dished out some assists. Throughout these playoffs he has evolved into a star.

2.Ben Wallace
Rip was the offensive leader in the playoffs but Ben Wallace was the defensive leader of the playoffs. He grabbed countless rebounds and rejected a lot of shots. Along with his defense, he also averaged almost 10 points a game.

3.Tayshaun Prince
Tayshaun had a great playoffs. In the first round and early in the second round Tayshaun scored a lot of points but after that he cooled off. When he stopped scoring he played defense. We should all remember his game saving block on Reggie Miller in game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals. In the finals he shutdown Kobe and that alone deserves a spot on this list.

Loudest Impact-Rasheed Wallace
He made his game 2 guarantee that they would win against the Pacers and they did. He also scored some big points when they needed it. The biggest game he had was in game 4 of the Finals when he scored 26 points and grabbed 13 rebounds.

Quietest Impact-Tayshaun Prince
Didn't score a lot but played great defense throughout the playoffs.

Player to Watch Next Season-Darko Milicic
Didn't hardly play at all in the regular season or the playoffs but watch out for Darko next season. He is going to be a great player and that is why he was selected second overall in the Draft.

A Picture to Remember

Series Thoughts

The Pistons are the champions of the NBA after beating the Lakers last night in game 5 of the NBA Finals. Here's a look at how they won game 5 and how they won the series.

Game 5 Notes-the Lakers looked good early and took a small lead. The Pistons stormed back to take the lead going into the second half. In the third quarter the Pistons blew out the Lakers and and in the 4th quarter they had a 25 point lead. In the 4th Larry Brown took out most of his starters and put in his backups. That is why the score was closer than the game really was(100-87).

Ben Wallace had a huge game grabbing 22 rebounds and scoring 18 points.

The Pistons just plain outplayed the Lakers again. LA took their best shot early but it just wasn't enough.

Series Thoughts-This was just an incredible series for the Pistons. Sometimes a team can beat a better team by just getting lucky,but the Pistons are the better team than the Lakers. They outplayed them in every game(even in game 2 when we lost) and it looked like the Lakers were the underdogs. Chauncey Billups was the series MVP. Billups had a great series averaging over 21 points a game and around 5 assists a game. What a series and what a season!

Tuesday, June 15, 2004

NBA CHAMPS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Pistons have just won their first NBA title in 14 years after beating the Lakers tonight 100-87 in game 5 of the NBA Finals!

HOW DID THIS HAPPEN!. The Lakers were probably one of most heavily favored teams in Finals' history. The Pistons were the better team than the Lakers this season and they deserved to this Championship.I am so excited right now for the Pistons and the City of Detroit. We deserve this so lets enjoy it!

It's Time

This is what the Pistons have worked for all season. They have a chance tonight to win the NBA Title against the LA Lakers. They lead the series 3-1 and tonight's game 5 will be on their home floor.

Throughout this series the Pistons have outplayed the Lakers and they deserve to win this NBA Title. If they win the Title tonight, it will be their first NBA Title in 14 years. If they don't win it tonight they would have to win it at LA in game 6 or 7. Every fan here in Detroit wants this NBA Title so bad after the Lakers were so heavily favored to beat Detroit in 4 or 5 games. It still hasn't hit me how close the Pistons are to winning this title. If the Pistons win tonight it will be Detroit's first major Championship(not including the Shocks' WNBA Title last year) since 2 years ago when the Redwings won the Stanley Cup.

Monday, June 14, 2004

One win away from a NBA Title

The Pistons can almost taste a NBA Championship after their huge 88-80 victory over the Lakers in game 4 of the NBA Finals. They again did everything right to win this game. They played defense and scored when they had to. They now lead the series 3-1.

Rasheed Wallace took over this game in the second half and ended the game with 26 points,13 rebounds,2 blks, and 2 assists. He hit some big shots at the end of the game to keep the game out of reach for LA. This was by far his best game of the playoffs.

Shaq had a huge game for the Lakers(36 points and 20 rebounds) but nobody else stepped up for LA. Kobe Bryant scored just 20 points and didn't take smart shots.

Rip and Chauncey both had good games. Rip had 17 points and Billups had 23 points. Billups has scored 91 points in this series.

Mike James provided a spark late in the second quarter scoring 4 points in 4 minutes to give the Pistons a lead going into halftime.

The Pistons just plain dominated the Lakers for the second straight game. They played smothering defense and they held the Lakers down. They took a lead going into the 4th quarter and never looked back.

After watching this game and the past 4 games, I have seen how great the Pistons are. Throughout this series you can tell that the Pistons are a better team than the Lakers. They have deeper bench and they play incredible defense. They also play with a lot more heart than the Lakers and they treat the games like they mean something.

This was another tremendous victory for the Pistons but they still have work to do. If the Lakers win game 5 then the series will move to LA for game 6 and 7. The Pistons must close it out at home because it will be tough for the Pistons to win another game at LA. The Lakers are a great team that has a lot of experience, but I fully expect the Pistons to come out in game 5 and dominate the Lakers again to take their first NBA Title in 14 years.

Friday, June 11, 2004

Two wins away from a NBA Title

Wow! That is all I can say after watching the Pistons' huge 88-68 victory over the Lakers in game 3 of the NBA Finals.

This was such an impressive victory for the Pistons after that extemely tough game 2 loss. Most people thought the Pistons would come out flat but that was the complete opposite. They started the game with a 8-0 lead and never looked back. LA never tied or took the lead in this game and they never made a run to get back into the game.

Detroit did everything right in this game. They just plain destroyed the Lakers. After watching this game, I now believe the Pistons can and will win this series. LA hasn't played the best, but it is how good the Pistons are playing that has allowed them to take the 2-1 series lead.

Detroit took Shaq and Kobe out of their game. Detroit held Shaq to 14 points. Equally impressive was that Shaq only got to the free-throw line once. Ben Wallace was the main reason why Shaq had a bad game. He didn't allow him to get the ball as much as he would like. The Pistons also held down Kobe Bryant. He scored just 11 points. He was guarded by Tayshaun Prince who contested every one of Bryant's shot.

Detroit again got huge performances from their guards. Rip Hamilton scored 31 points. If you would have told me that Hamilton would have outscored Shaq and Kobe combined, I would have said you were nuts. Chauncey Billups also had a good game scoring 19 points(9 in the third quarter). In all three games of this series Billups is averaging about 23 points a game. He needed to step it up in this series and he has done just that.

The Pistons' team defense was the difference in this game and has been the difference throughout this series. They have played so good on the defensive end that if they had scored a few more points in all three games, they might have blown the Lakers out in every game. They held LA to 68 points. That was a franchise low and also the first time the Lakers have been held under 70 since the shot clock era.

Game 4 is not till Sunday night and if the Pistons continue to play this good, they might not even have to go back to LA.

Thursday, June 10, 2004

Game 3 Preview

The Pistons play game 3 of the NBA Finals tonight against the Lakers. The Pistons won game one 87-75 and the Lakers won game 2 99-91 in overtime.

Game 2 was such a tough loss for the Pistons. You probably remember the tough 3 point shot Kobe Bryant made to send the game into overtime. In overtime the Lakers dominated to win the game. Even though they lost game 2,the Pistons still took a game at LA and now have home-court advantage. The next 3 games are at home for the Pistons and game 6 and 7 will be in LA.

Probably the most important thing the Pistons have to improve on is their offense. They scored 91 points in game 2 but just like in game 1 they missed some easy shots. They also missed some free-throws and layups.

Wednesday, June 09, 2004

Pistons missed a golden opportunity

This was one of the toughest losses of the season for the Pistons. They could have taken a 2-0 series lead in the NBA Finals going back home but they couldn't capitalize losing to the Lakers 99-91 in overtime.

At halftime the Pistons were down by 8 points. In the third quarter they scored 30 points to cut the Lakers' lead to 2 points going into the fourth quarter. In that third quarter Billups scored 16 points.

With around a minute left in the game Ben Wallace scored to put the Pistons up 89-83. LA got the ball and gave it to Shaq who powered in a layup and got fouled. He made the free-throw to put the Lakers within 3 points. The Pistons then got the ball, and Chauncey Billups missed a runner to keep the score at 89-86. With 10.2 left in the game the Lakers called timeout. The Lakers inbounded the ball to Shaq, and he passed the ball to Kobe Bryant who hit the shot of the game over Rip Hamilton(a three pointer) to tie the game at 89-89 with only 2.1 seconds left in the game. The Pistons tried to score and win the the game after Bryant's bucket but their inbound pass deflected off Rasheed Wallace's hand out of bounds.

In overtime the Lakers outscored the Pistons 10-2 to win the game and tie the series at 1-1. It was obvious that the Pistons were devistated after Kobe made that great 3 point shot.

The main play that will be remembered about this game was when the Lakers inbounded the ball, it went to Shaq(this was when Kobe hit the game tying shot). Why wouldn't the Pistons foul there and put Shaq on the free throw line with less than 10 seconds in the game? They had the 3 point lead and chances are he wasn't going to make both free throws. That is something that will be talked about for the rest of this series.

This was such a tough loss for the Pistons. They made a great comeback on the road and were so very close to taking a 2-0 lead going back home.

We have to give the Lakers some credit. They played great at the end of the game, making the huge shots. They are a great team and they weren't about to lay down after losing game 1.

The best thing that came out of this loss, is that the Pistons earned some more respect. Even after winning game 1, The Lakers didn't think the Pistons would have a chance to beat them again at home. The Lakers now know how tough it will be for them to beat the Pistons. The next 3 games are at home for the Pistons. If they can win 2/3 at home I think they will win this series.

If the Pistons want to win this NBA Title, Rasheed Wallace has to play smarter and better. For the second straight game he got 2 early fouls and he sat almost the whole first half. He ended up with only 11 points in game 2.

Tuesday, June 08, 2004

Game 2 Preview

The Pistons play game 2 of the NBA Finals tonight against the Lakers. The Pistons won game one 87-75 in a dominating performance.

This is a big game for both teams. If the Pistons win they will have a 2-0 lead going back home for 3 straight games. They must not be satisfied to have just won one game at LA. The Lakers don't want to lose or they will be down 2-0 going on the road.

The Pistons may have played great in game one,but the Lakers also played horrible. The Pistons must expect the Lakers to play a lot better in game 2.

The Pistons' game plan will probably stay the same:let Kobe and Shaq score but stop the rest of the team. The rest of the Lakers will have to play better if they want a game 2 victory. If the Pistons can shutdown the other Lakers, they will probably win this game.

Monday, June 07, 2004

Three Wins away from a NBA Title

The Pistons won game 1 of the NBA Finals in a dominating performance over Lakers. The final score was Pistons-87 Lakers-75.

This is exactly the type of game the Pistons wanted to play, let Shaq and Kobe score but stop the rest of the team. They won this game with their defense and if the Pistons hadn't turned the ball over as much and gotten a better game from Rip,they would have won this game by a lot more.

Chauncey Billups stepped it up and played a great game scoring 22 points. He also caused Gary Payton to get in foul trouble.

Rip Hamilton only had 12 points and 5 assists but that was good compared to Payton's 3 points and 3 assists.

This was a great victory for the Pistons but they still have work to do. The Pistons played great, but the Lakers also played terrible. LA didn't show any emotion or urgency and besides Kobe and Shaq the team was a joke. The Pistons must expect the Lakers to be ready for game 2 and play a lot better.

The Pistons also need to make Shaq score tougher buckets. You can't really stop him, but the Pistons let him score way too many easy buckets on route to his 34 points.

The Pistons can be happy with this victory,for now, but this series is a long ways from being over.

Sunday, June 06, 2004

Series Preview

The Pistons and Lakers play game 1 of the NBA Finals tonight at 9:00.

The Lakers are heavily favored in this series. The Pistons have a better shot than people are giving them. It will be tough to win against the high powered Lakers. Detroit needs a big series from Chauncey Billups. He has had a decent playoffs but he really needs to step in up. Here an article of Billups talking about how the Pistons can win the NBA Title.

I could analize this game and series to death but I won't because analazing a game really does nothing. The Pistons just have to go out there and play the best they can. If they play as good as they know how they should win this series.

Saturday, June 05, 2004

Reasons for Victory and Defeat

The NBA Finals between the Lakers and the Pistons starts Sunday night. Here are the top 3 reasons for both teams that could lead them to a NBA Title or a NBA Finals defeat.

LakersTop 3 reasons why they will win the NBA Title

1.Fire Power,the Lakers have 4 hall of famers on their roster:Gary Payton,Karl Malone,Shaq, and Kobe Bryant. Nobody has stopped all 4 of them at one time this entire season. Those 4 could just be too much for the Pistons to handle.

2.Playoff Experience,the Lakers have 8 guys who have been to the NBA Finals. The Pistons only have 2. Most of the Lakers' current roster has been with them since they won 3 straight titles from 00-03.

3.Home-court Advantage,the Lakers had a better record than Detroit in the regular season so they will have home-court advantage throughout this series. It will play a major role if this series goes to a game 7.

Top 3 reasons why the Lakers won't win the NBA Title1.Lack of Defense,the Lakers don't play a lot of defense. They sometimes play good defense but they rely on their offense to get them through tough situations.

2.Inconsistant,the Lakers are often play inconsistant. They can play a great game and then have a bad game the next.

3.Weak Bench-The Lakers' bench is not very deep. After their starting 5 there aren't many guys who can score. Sometimes guys like Kareem Rush will step it up but not on a regular basis.

PistonsTop 3 reasons why they will win the NBA Title

1.Defense,the Pistons play great defense. They can hold teams to under 70 or 80 points and think nothing of it. It should be a great matchup of the Pistons' defense vs the Lakers offense.

2.No Pressure,the Pistons have no pressure on them whatsoever. Everybody is picking the Lakers to win the NBA Title in 5-6 games. I haven't heard any Media member picking the Pistons to take home the crown.

3.Bench,the Pistons have a good bench. They have guys like Corliss W,Lindsey Hunter,Mike James,Okur,and others who can come off the bench and provide a spark. They must step it up when the starters come out.

Top 3 reason why the Pistons won't win the NBA Title1.Lack of Offense,the Pistons often don't get enough points to win a game. They usually rely on their defense to win games,but I don't think that will be good enough against the potent offense of the Lakers.

2.Inconsistant,just like with the Lakers the Pistons don't play consistant enough. They will win a big road game and then get smoked at home. This will not do in the NBA Finals.

3.Shaq,I don't think the Pistons will be able to stop Shaq. Nobody has this entire playoffs. The Pistons have some big guys on their bench and they will probably play "Hack a Shaq" this series to try and slow him down.

Friday, June 04, 2004

6/4 News

The Redwings are keeping Dave Lewis as their head coach. It looks like they are going to sign him to a one year deal. I am mad because I wanted the Wings to fire him after losing in the playoffs these last 2 years. To find more about this go to On the Wings.

The Tigers lost yesterday to the Royals 9-6. Bonderman(4-5) started and picked up his 5th loss of the season. This was the last game of a 4 game series, both teams won 2 games.

Thursday, June 03, 2004

The Pistons' Chances

The last 2 days the National Media hasn't been giving the Pistons a chance to win against the Lakers in the NBA Finals. I haven't heard one person in the Media picking the Pistons to upset the Lakers. Most people are picking the Lakers to win the NBA Title in 5 or 6 games.

I think the Pistons have a much better shot than people are giving them. The biggest reason why the Pistons have a chance to win is because they play great defense. The Lakers hardly play any defense. Another reason is because the Pistons beat the Lakers at home in the regular season. They also almost beat them on the road. In both of those games that they played the Lakers; LA had all 4 of their hall of famers playing(Kobe,Shaq,Malone,and Gary Payton). In those 2 games the Pistons didn't even have Rasheed Wallace. The Pistons are 32-11 since picking him up from Atlanta.

It will be very tough for the Pistons to beat the Lakers with all their fire power. Even if the Pistons lose this series, it will be a much closer series that most people expect.

Tuesday, June 01, 2004

Eastern Conference Champs!

The Pistons are Eastern Conference Champs after beating the Pacers 69-65 tonight in game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals. They will now move onto the NBA Finals to face the Lakers.

It may not have been the prettiest victory but the Pistons did what they had to do in order to win this game. Here is a game recap.

First Quarter-Indiana outplayed the Pistons in the first quarter. Detroit missed a ton of easy shots. They also allowed Indiana to get some easy buckets. In the first quarter Ron Artest held Rip Hamilton to just 1 point. At the end of the first Indiana had a big 23-11 lead.

Second Quarter-In the second quarter Indiana made just 3 of 14 shots. They only scored 10 points and turned the ball over 7 times.

The Pistons didn't shoot much better making only 7 of 25 shots.

Ben Wallace went on a 4 point run in the second quarter to put the Pistons back within 3 points. At that point Indiana was leading 27-24.

At halftime the Pacers had a 33-27 lead. It was the lowest scoring half in NBA playoff history.

Third Quarter-At the start of the third quarter Tayshaun Prince scored 5 straight points to put the Pistons back within 3.

Late in the third quarter the Pistons went on a 8-1 run. They were still down 50-46 heading into the final quarter.

Fourth Quarter-Early in the fourth Chauncey Billups hit his first 2 three pointers of the game to tie the game at 57-57.

With the score tied at 59-59 Artest committed a flagrant foul against Rip Hamilton by striking him in the face with his forearm. It was a cheap shot and the refs made the right call. Rip Hamilton made both free throws to give the Pistons their first lead of the game at 61-59. Rasheed Wallace followed up the 2 free throws with a great dunk off a missed shot giving the Pistons a 4 point lead.

After the Pacers got a bucket to come within 2 points, Rip hit a huge jumper with 1:13 left in the game to give the Pistons a 65-61 lead.

After a Ron Artest miss, Tayshaun Prince hit a huge 2 pointer to give the Pistons a 67-61 lead. After Tayshaun's bucket the Pacers scored 4 more points but it wasn't enough to make a comeback. The final score was 69-65 Pistons.

Game Thoughts-The first half was terrible for both teams. Detroit missed countless easy layups and jump shots. If the Pistons wouldn't have played great defense on Indiana the Pistons might have gotten blown out.

Again the Pistons got a huge game from Rip Hamilton. After scoring just 1 point in the first quarter Rip ended the game with 21 points,5 assists, and 5 rebounds.

A player's name that won't show up on the stat sheet is Lindsey Hunter. He provided a spark for the Pistons to help them stay in the game.

Another guy who had a great game was Tayshaun Prince. He only scored 7 points but he did three important things in the 4th quarter to help Detroit get the win. First he made an important jumper to put them up by 6. Second he made a crucial block to help secure the lead. Finally he made a great pass off the inbound to a wide open Ben Wallace who dunked it home to put the Pistons up by 6 late in the game.

This game showed how good the Pistons are. When they were down and playing terrible they came back and played great at the right time. Guys stepped up and gave them the chance to win.

Series Thoughts-The guy who had the biggest series for the Pistons was Rip Hamilton. He averaged over 23 points a game and hit a bunch of huge shots. Without him this series would have been a whole different story. Everyone in the NBA is saying that "Rip Hamilton is becoming a star right before our eyes". After a series like this it is hard to disagree.

Another guy who had a huge series was Tayshaun Prince. Most people would think he had a bad series because he was barely scored at all. He made up for it on the defensive end though. He stopped Ron Artest this entire series. He only allowed him to only have one good game. Most importantly was his game saving block on Reggie Miller in game 2. If he hadn't made that block the Pistons maybe would have been down 2-0 going back home. He also made some other key plays throughout the series.

Rasheed Wallace was kindof the X-factor in this series. Everybody will remember his game 2 garauntee when he said the Pistons would win. He was right and the Pistons did win but he only scored 10 points. He did however score 20 points in game 3 and 22 points in game 5(both victories). He played good at times and then bad at others. He will need to step it up as they go against the Lakers.

NBA Finals-The Pistons now look to the NBA Finals. This is the first time since 1990 that they have been to the Finals. They will go up against the Lakers. I am not sure if the Pistons can beat them but we will see. As of right now I want to enjoy this Eastern Conference Title. I will talk about the NBA Finals tomorrow.

Game 6 Preview

The Pistons play the Pacers tonight in game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals. The Pistons lead the series 3-2. This game will be at home for Detroit.

The Pistons will again need a big game from Rasheed Wallace. In the three games the Pistons beat the Pacers,Rasheed averaged 17.3 points a game. In the 2 games the Pistons lost to the Pacers,Rasheed averaged only 7 points a game.

The Pistons have been playing great defense throughout this series. If they can stop them again tonight and score some points they will should win.

If the Pistons win they will move onto the NBA Finals to face the Lakers. If the Pistons lose, the series will be tied 3-3 going back to Indiana. The Pistons could win game 7 on the road but it would be very tough. It would be much easier to just close the Pacers out at home.